Illicit Love
by HideInYourShell
Summary: They are enemies, but what happens if they begin to grow feelings for eachother? First chapter is more an intro. Rated T for later chapters. ZxP
1. Chapter 1

Heh. I finally decided to write a story. It will be fluffy, eventually. I think.

Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew. So there.

* * *

"Why does this only happen to me?" Ichigo screamed, causing all of the other Mew Mews to look at the girl with ears and a tail that just came raging through the back door. 

"What do you mean?" Ryou asked, not even bothering to look up from the newspaper he was reading.

"I mean THESE!" Ichigo screamed again, pointing angrily to her ears with two fingers and at her tail with another.

"Oh. Those. You still can't control them? I was sure that by now you would have enough sense to be able to stay calm." Ryou said, obviously engrossed in an article.

"It's not my fault if I get asked on a date and am so happy that they pop out! It isn't fair! Why doesn't this happen to any of the other girls?" Ichigo complained.

Before Ryou could say another non-caring response, Retasu said in a quiet voice. "Actually … My streamers came out when I was talking about someone I have a crush on." She blushed deeply as she was bombarded by questions by Minto, Ichigo and Pudding as to who her crush was.

Zakuro's facial expression never changed, but she was very surprised. Were those three really so blind as to not notice how obviously Retasu liked Ryou?

When finally the three inquisitors realized that Retasu was not saying any more, they quieted down. All were quite sad that they could not get any more information on who she liked. None of their thoughts came even remotely close to anyone in the room.

Ichigo's tail and ears had finally disappeared; she had calmed down significantly. "Wow … So I guess I'm not the only one! So I guess there are two of us!" she walked over and put an arm around the still red faced girl.

"Me too, na no da!" Purin squealed, jumping onto the two embraced girls.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, trying to keep balance. She failed and all three of the girls fell onto the floor.

After a couple of "ouches" Pudding continued. "Yesterday when I did a brand new trick really well and everybody clapped, my ears and tail came out. Then everyone clapped louder, na no da!"

Ichigo, who was rubbing her head that she had knocked on a chair when she fell, tried to get up. "Huh. So I guess I'm not that odd."

"This is interesting. It appears more than half of the Mews have their unique appendages appear when they show any extreme emotions." All eye turned on Ryou, who had apparently finally put down his newspaper and had listened to the entire conversation.

Minto, who had been hoping that her onee-sama would reveal something first, quickly added her experience. "After my ballet recital last week, I took my bow. I was not entirely surprised by the loud applause and standing ovation that I got. But I was particularly happy when, as the curtain was closing, a couple of roses were thrown on the stage. When I turned to walk away, I noticed that I was light on my feet. It was as if I were still executing the moves that I had just finished, and then I noticed that I had my wings! I looked back and also saw my tail. I had to quickly run to the bathroom before anyone noticed me."

Although Minto had said the entire story quite smugly, Ichigo hadn't noticed. "Yay! Minto's like us, na no da!" Purin yelled happily, running over and tackling Minto. This caused Minto to fall backwards, onto a chair, which then itself fell over backwards, causing Minto to give a squeak of pain. Everybody, excluding Zakuro, laughed loudly. Ichigo walked over and helped a reluctant Minto up.

Once the excitement calmed down, all eyes turned to Zakuro, who was the only when who had not recited a story about her 'appendages' appearing when she showed an extreme amount of emotion. Zakuro returned each stare with a glare, refusing to say a word.

"Well. Have anything to say? Come on, we want another story." Ryou said, making the hint to obvious for Zakuro to pretend that she hadn't heard it.

"Sorry girls," Zakuro said, not bothering to add any extra words to include Ryou and Keiichiro, who had been very quiet. "Apparently I'm the only when who can actually keep calm whenever some miniscule event happens. Nothing odd has been happening to me." She left and went outside to change the 'Closed' sign to 'Open', even though that wasn't her job.

"Leave it to Zakuro to be the only one not to do something." Ichigo said, disappointed. She had long since forgotten her initial anger that was plastered on her face when she first walked in.

"She's right. She can keep calm while the rest of us can't!" Minto immediately said, coming to her onee-sama's defence.

"Whatever. Come on girls, it's time to start work. Ichigo, hurry up and change." Ryou said the last part impatiently.

Ichigo quickly left to get changed, while the other girls started sitting the customers who had somehow already arrived.

"What would you two like today?" Zakuro asked the customers. She didn't say it coldly, but it wasn't at all said in a preppy tone like Ichigo. It was a young couple; they appeared to be about 17, and were staring at each other.

"I'll have the … Strawberry Parfait, thank you." The girl said.

"Make that two." The man agreed. They then went back to looking at each other, with what may as well have been hearts in their eyes. Zakuro turned away to get their order. She may not be the cheeriest of people, but she didn't hate seeing other people enjoying themselves. She was perfectly happy for two other people who were in love. It just wasn't what she wanted to do. It didn't suit her.

"Two Strawberry Parfaits." She said simply to Keiichiro. She waited for a second for the two parfaits and brought it to the table, interrupting a quick kiss.

"Here you go." She said to the blushing couple.

Once she left to tend to another customer, she glanced back at the table. They were feeding each other, and doing everything that was expected of a classic girlfriend and boyfriend. She shook her head as she imagined herself in that situation, and hurriedly took the next customer's order.

The rest of the working day passed in a worthless blur. She knew she could continue doing her job, even when entirely dazed. She never spilled an order; never got an order wrong; never carried on any one task for longer than necessary. She helped Retasu clean up the large mess of ice cream in the middle of the café when she spilled a tray. When Ryou finally told them that they could go home, she promptly said her good-byes to her teammates, but walked home slowly.

Noticing looming clouds slowly invading the city, she decided to hurry home. After taking a couple of turns, she found herself in the park. The last people were scurrying home, leaving the park bare. It was still warm, so Zakuro decided to walk through the park. Before long, she found herself idly staring at the trees. She had never truly explored the park before, and, not caring that it was getting late and that the clouds were now thronged above her, she walked slowly around the park.

She stared at the clearing. Not concerned about the consequences of coming home late, she went into the clearing and sat down. It was still warm out, and so she decided to lie down. Staring at the cloudy sky, she felt a small drop of rain fall on her cheek, that slightly tickled her as it went down her cheek before falling to the ground. Within a couple of seconds, there was a small trickle of rainfall constantly attacking her. The rain started getting louder and heavier, until it reached its crescendo with a loud crack of lightning.

Soon, the wind joined this crusade that forced anyone on the streets to swiftly retreat to the nearest sanctuary. Zakuro merely stayed in the middle of her clearing, allowing the rain to wash over her. Her clothes were soaked through, forcing them onto her body, outlining her stunning figure.

Allowing her mind to wander, Zakuro quickly found herself thinking of past relationships that she had. Generally she stayed away from such thoughts, but feeling the rain wash over her she allowed such feelings. Relationships were one thing she was quite an expert on. She had had numerous boyfriends; at least boys that she had gone on a date or two with. Never had anyone been allowed close enough to her for her to actually care about them. Even her own mother seemed to drift away daily.

So engrossed in her thoughts, she didn't hear the person that had been watching her walk up to her.

* * *

Pai quietly teleported out of the ship, then again it was hard to be loud when teleporting. His two comrades probably wouldn't notice his absence; they were too busy feuding about their quite obvious infatuations. Kish straightforwardly admitted that he 'loved', as he saw the word, Mew Ichigo. He then attacked Tart, saying that he had feeling for Mew Pudding. This caused Tart to blush, and begin a fit of denying anything that was said. 

_Same as always._ Pai thought, letting escape a small sigh from his lips.

He was dressed in his usual outfit, except that he had on a toque that concealed his ears. Recently he had taken to flies, and, on rare occasions, walks through this city called Tokyo. Today he decided he would fly.

Their mission to bring a swift invasion of the Earth with the Kirema Anima was spoiled with the discovery of the Mew Mews. These protectors of the Earth had beaten the aliens quite handily quite often. Kish simply wanted to attack with a single Kirema Anima most of the time, something Pai didn't agree with but was forced to go along with. Tart always agreed, and the two combined were far too stubborn to contend with. Although he was supposed to be the 'leader' of the aliens, for now, it was hard to control the juvenile aliens that he fought aside with.

The introduction of the Mew Mews also had another, unforeseen, effect. This was why he had to leave the ship lately. Kish had grown palpable feeling for their leader, Mew Ichigo. And, although Tart would never admit it, he evidently had feelings for the youngest of their foes, Mew Pudding.

At least Pai could count on his own maturity to keep himself from having affections for any of their enemy. He knew that he would have to try his best to keep his partners from simply giving up on their plans and spending all their time trying to win the feelings of their enemy – something that it appeared Kish was doing more and more of. At least, for now, Kish would still at least partially try during their attacks. But, however, Pai did question what Kish would do if he were to have Mew Ichigo in a vulnerable enough position to end the leader's reign. Even with his unrequited 'love', Pai couldn't imagine Kish ever killing the young adversary.

Whenever Tart fought the exuberant Mew Pudding, it seemed that he would never actually attack. This could be contributed to Mew Pudding's speed, but again Pai questioned what would happen if Tart were to gain too steep of an advantage.

While wondering what would happen if these positions he were imagining were reversed, so that the Mew Mews had the upper hand, he felt a small drop of rain fall on the back of his neck. It slowly slid around his neck, slightly tickling him, though one could never guess by looking at his inexpressive face. Looking up at the sky, he saw dark clouds had managed to creep up on him while he was musing on his suppositions.

While flying through a commercial area, he noticed a large picture. He flew towards it, intrigued. Stopping a few meters in front of it, he attempted to find out what it was. He quickly tuned out the traffic beneath him, which probably just saw him as a blur, if they would even risk taking their eyes off the road. He soon decided that it was a human female, with quite attractive features. He allowed his mind to wander that far before he quickly stopped it, forcing it to concentrate more on what it was there for. It seemed to be an advertisement of some sort, though he was more concentrating on the face of the person on it now.

Rapidly he began to distinguish a resemblance between the person and … he couldn't quite place whom. He was surprised when an unwanted thought came into his head.

_She looks like that wolf-girl mew. Mew Zakuro._

He attempted to dismiss such thoughts from his head, but instead he found himself finding reasons to support his assumption. The hair was purple – really, how many girls out there have purple hair? She had the same features, same large eyes. But there was one extra thing that she had. It was something that, although he had only seen the Mews fighting, all the others had on at one point of another – a smile.

But, surely that couldn't actually be the adversary that he had fought so many times. Once, after the girls had beaten the aliens, Pai had lingered and had watched as quite a few humans, some carrying what he found out were cameras, others with what he discovered were microphones or notepads. They seemed so intent on finding even the tiniest detail, unlocking the smallest crevice of information as to who these girls were. Undoubtedly if one of those girls had her picture pasted for everyone to see, these people would figure out that were one and the same. They couldn't be that stupid.

Before finally leaving, he noticed something at the bottom of the picture. It simply said _Fujiwara Zakuro_. So, that must be her name. Those two must actually be the same person. _Amazing how blind all these people are_, he thought before moving on.

Deciding to stay out a while longer, he continued his undisturbed flight around that part of Tokyo. It was starting to rain hard now, the wind had picked up and it appeared that there would soon be lightning. His presumption was correct; he soon heard a saw a flash of lightning, followed by a loud crack of thunder.

Landing close to a park, he chose to take a walk through it, as corny as that may sound. He felt pretty assured that no one would see him; these people seemed to almost fear the rain. He couldn't see too far ahead of him, for the rain blurred his vision. After slowly walking around for a few minutes, his thoughts distracting him, he came across a small clearing. It seemed quite out of place, it was completely void of trees and plants, with beautifully mown grass, and a large something in the middle.

Pai squinted, hoping to figure out what was intruding upon this small refuge. After staring for a few minutes, he concluded that it was actually a human. Wondering what it was doing in this driving rain, he walked around the clearing so that he could see its front.

Soon it became obvious to Pai that he was looking at a female human. She appeared tall in comparison to others that he had seen, but also seemed relatively young. She had long hair; the colour was indistinguishable in the rain. A quick glance revealed that she was slim, and undeniably attractive. A bit of hair concealed her face.

Pai stood gazing for a while, wondering what to do. Finally he decided to relieve the boredom and anxiety that had been building up in him recently. He approached stealthily, not wanting to hint to his quarry that he was coming. Once arrived at his destination, Pai looked down at the girl. He moved the hair that was covering her face, and was amazed to see very fine, beautiful features. Features that seemed somehow familiar. _Impossible._ They couldn't be familiar, he knew no human girls besides the mews, and even they weren't entirely human.

He quickly dismissed any such thoughts from his mind. Obviously a mew wouldn't be laying down in the middle of a park on such a miserable day. It wasn't logical. He got bored just standing there, regarding the sleeping girl. Clearing his voice, he got ready to talk.

"You shouldn't be out here in this weather. You'll get sick, you know." He meant for the words to come out sarcastic, mocking. But instead the words sounded as if they had meaning, almost charismatic. Somehow the words managed to be heard over the wind, rain, and even the thunder that loudly cracked as he was talking, because the girl moved and started to get up.

* * *

Zakuro got up into a sitting position, stifling a yawn. She had heard someone give her a quick speech on not being out there. She brought her head up and looked at the person who had so politely interrupted her private thoughts. It seemed to be a young man, perhaps around her age. He was wearing pants and a shirt, but they were too wet for her to distinguish any other aspects. What really caught her eye, however, was the toque that the boy was wearing. At this time of year not many toques were seen, not that they were too common at any other time. 

"Thanks for caring. But I'm fine." She replied unemotionally, sarcasm leaking freely from her response.

After noticing that she was still sitting down, Zakuro hastily stood up. "Who are you?" she inquired coldly, after he just stood there without responding.

"Nobody." With that, the boy jumped back and walked into a small grouping of trees, seeming to disappear immediately. _That must not have been the response he wanted._ She thought, giving herself a faint smile. _I wonder who he was.

* * *

_

_What are the chances?_ Pie quickly tried to calculate the numbers in his head, but gave up after the third decimal number. _Not very high I guess._ _What was she doing there? Why was I so quick to go away? Why didn't I stay and attack?_

_Why do I care so much?

* * *

_

Well now. I suppose that didn't really reveal too much of the story. Really more of an introduction. Any reviews are gratefully accepted, including flames. If you catch any spelling or grammar errors, please tell me. I hate making them.

Anyway, next chapter something will actually happen. Again, please review. Thanks.


	2. First Day of School

Sorry it took so long to update. I've been on vacation, and I kind of got sidetracked … Anyway, I'll start updating quicker now. Much, much quicker. I probably should have though more about the plot before I started it. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to try harder. At least this chapter is semi-longer. Sorry if the characters are slightly … or extremely … out of character. I tried my best to keep them in character.

I'll answer ... err, more respond to the reviews now.

**Shadowdragonlady** – Yay, you were my first reviewer! Thanks, I really like the pairing too.

**StarFire and Sakura** – I've seen it explained very often that no one makes the connection because of the attitude, but I know really …

**KishLover123** – Glad to know you thought it got interesting so early. I'm trying for an original plot line.

**Calophi** - Yeah, I guess I made that a bit obvious ... lol. But it will probably be a while before I do that.

**Rune-Spirit** - Of course, I would love to be part of the C2 community. Although I must admit I don't know if I have to do anything.

**KUP **- Here you go! Sorry it took so long.

* * *

Pai stretched his arms reluctantly. He glanced over to the clock on his right; it was still early, 4:00am actually. Kish had insisted on him making a clock set to Japanese Standard Time, the time zone in which their rivals lived. _So that whenever we attack, they will be most prepared,_ he thought bitterly. But, even with such thoughts, he had agreed, and quite easily made the timepiece. It would hopefully keep the other two aliens at least partially structured. They basically had the same daily schedule as most Japanese people, except that they didn't go to school or work during the day, and they did attack five teenage or younger girls later on, occasionally. 

He went towards the kitchen and prepared himself some _somare_, which was peculiarly like coffee; it had a stimulating substance and everything. He entered his computer room – he considered it his even though it was technically Kish and Tart's as well, but he was the only one he could operate the computer worth a damn – and opened up the Mew Mew File.

He regarded the file with aversion. The file was hardly the tactical help he had originally planned it to be. It included everything the aliens knew about the Mews, which up to that point was, Pai reluctantly admitted, minute. As of yet it merely included what the girls were infused with, weapons, names and a couple other miscellaneous facts.

He opened up a page and, easily corresponding to a relatively close telecommunications satellite, went to a search engine. He was on the Internet, a mission on his mind. Quickly he typed in a couple of words, and hit the equivalent to 'enter'. Instantaneously a page appeared, showing the first 20 web site of a few hundred thousand. Apparently _Fujiwara Zakuro_ was quite a popular web site topic. News articles, fan sites, 'model' sites – Pai didn't know what a model was, and didn't bother finding out – and other arbitrary pages greeted him.

Rapidly he narrowed his search, and was soon greeted by a couple of welcome hits. One of them was a student directory – it showed what school she went to. Pai went onto the site, and, after hacking through a few meek securities, ended up on an administration page. He already knew what school Zakuro went to, which was what he had wanted to add to the Mew Mew File, so he speculated as to why he was still researching. While scrolling down the long page, he came upon a link to a registration sheet.

He opened the page without hesitating. He had no idea what he was doing, something that did not happen very often. He regarded they page with a mix of surprise and anxiety, neither of which he felt very often. It was a page restricted to principles and above; one could choose what school one wanted to sign a student up for.

An idea snuck into Pai's mind that should never have come remotely close. _I could sign up for one of the schools. I could find out what they are learning now._ Pai had pondered what the Mews were learning in school. He doubted they were learning battle tactics, although the Mews were fighting, the nation itself was in a state of current peace.

Pai scrolled through the possibility of schools that could be signed up for. He tried to convince himself that he would pick a random school, but he knew that there was a specific one that he was searching for. Finally finding it, he selected it. It was, unsurprisingly, Zakuro's school. _If ever we are in such a desperate situation that we must attack the girls separately and in surprise, this will give us a great advantage. _Pai successfully convinced himself that this was the main reason as to why he had made such an uncharacteristically rash decision, although he hoped the aliens would never have to sink to such low depths.

Slowly, carefully, he filled out the remainder of the form. He had applied for the highest grade there – grade nine. When needed, he made up information, which was exasperatingly often. The address was by far the most aggravating. He had found a suitable street, and had been forced to give the address of a derelict building. It was at the very edge of the district, and he hoped none of the administration knew of it.

Before he could convince himself to give the entire scheme up, which a large part of him wanted to do, he sent the information. It was processed immediately. _What did I just do?_ He thought, for once confused. _Why did I just apply for a human school?_ It took all of his willpower to finally convince himself again of the reasons why he had chosen so bluntly to go to a school.

_I'll start today. The form should have been registered immediately. I've already done far more asinine actions than usual, may as well continue._ The undesirable thought slowly took over, and Pai reluctantly accepted the notion.

After Pai walked around the ship for about an hour, consumed in his thoughts, he decided to get prepared for his first day. He teleported to an empty alleyway close to downtown Tokyo; he had been there a few times before on the rare occasion that he took a walk. He took a different route than usual, looking for a place to purchase the necessities of school.

**Needed: A qualified person who can assist in the re-working of a new computer program. Apply inside. Good pay.**

The small sign caught Pai's eyes. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten something as obvious as money. He knew that rarely are things in life are free, and what people argued is always the cheesy emotion – namely, love. Quickly removing his mind from such corny thoughts, he decided to apply for the job. He was certainly qualified.

The building that he had seen it on was a relatively small, brick building. It was three stories high, but took up a small area. He regarded the area around the door inquisitively. Knocking seemed like a bad idea this early, dawn had only just come less than an hour ago, but he would need some sort of payment immediately. He saw a small button and instinctively touched it. As soon as he put a bit of pressure on it, he heard a small _ding_ sound come from the inside of the building. The small button must have triggered it. _How convenient. I hope someone is currently occupying the building. _

After waiting a moment, he pressed the button a couple more times, hoping to awaken anyone that was inside. Finally he was greeted by an annoyed grumble before a man who appeared to be a small ways older than Pai, but still relatively young, opened the door.

"What do you want? It's not even 6:00am yet!" the main said, obviously frustrated that he was awoken so early. He must use the building as house and office. Pai absentmindedly wondered what the rest of the building was used for.

"I came to apply for the job you have posted on your door. I believe I can be of great service." Pai knew that he probably didn't seem like the ideal employee. He had not seen many toques in Tokyo –admittedly he had seen none. He was also young, but he did not think that that would affect an opinion too drastically.

"You come to my house and office just after dawn, and request a job? I'm not one to turn people down instantly, but you certainly haven't given me a very good first impression." He said the last part while looking up and down at Pai. But quickly his expression softened.

"But, I suppose I can give you a chance. You have already awoken me as it is. Who knows? Maybe you are some super genius that can help me out. Come in, come in." He ushered Pai in hastily. The action surprised Pai; he wasn't expecting such a quick change in opinion.

Following the order, Pai followed the man in. He was led through a couple rooms before he entered a relatively small room, with a computer in its centre. Pai examined the room with curiosity. He glanced from the monitor to the computer. It seemed to be relatively the same design as his information processor.

In the small confines of the room, it seemed like an eternity before the computer was finally ready to be used. The man seemed embarrassed at the length it took for the computer to become functional. _As he should be, mine takes merely a fraction of a second._

"I just wish that this computer would hurry up! I suppose this is what I get for storing so much information on it." The man sighed, only to be lightly, yet forcibly, pushed away by Pai.

Pai looked at the monitor. It would be easy to fix the man's problem, and hopefully that would gain him some trust and respect. Pai opened various programs, and did so many different actions so rapidly that the poor man regarding Pai with interested eyes was left dumbfounded.

After a few soundless minutes, Pai let out a satisfied sigh.

"You're problem is fixed. Your computer will run as good as it ever as. I just shrunk the extra information, which was most of it, into a large file. It can be easily recovered, but it won't get in the way anymore."

The man, who had still not given his name, quickly went onto the computer and opened various programs. It seemed that he was overjoyed at the new speed his computer was reaching.

"Spectacular! How did you do that so fast? Never mind that. You're hired! Here, let me explain what I need you to do." The next few minutes were spent showing Pai the new program that was being developed. It was the program for a microchip for a new cell phone that doubled as an MP3 player, an address book, and a camera, among other things. It had to be compact and high quality.

"I'll have it finished as soon as I can." Pai said, after he was handed the disc containing the information.

"Now in terms of payment, I need some money for necessities." Pai said it bluntly, but he did need it abruptly.

"Of course! You can have 20 now and the rest when you finish, if it is up to standard." The man left and promptly returned with ten ¥5,000 bills.

"It is ¥50,000, so you had better be very careful with it," he said, as he ushered Pai out of the door.

"I believe I have yet to learn your name. I am Pai." Pai needed to know the name of his employer.

"Of course, I am so sorry! My name is Mr. Unzari. Now I think we can both do with a bit of extra sleep. Good bye!" The man ended over-energetically.

Pai left the building, feeling oddly confused. He could easily complete the needed task, and now he finally had money to spend on supplies. He looked down at the papers in his hand, and failed in his attempt to find anything too special about them. _What makes these papers worth so much?_ He believed that it was genuine money; if the man wanted the job done he would have to pay with authentic currency.

After a short period of time, Pai found a store; it appeared to have all the supplies he required. He had printed off a school supply list from the site. But, to his dismay, a sign posted on the door informed visitors that the store did not open until 8:00am. The same time as the school day began.

Although Pai hated to be tardy, he hated even more to be unprepared. So, deciding that he would buy the supplies before going to the school, he teleported back to the ship to await the opening of the store.

* * *

Zakuro raised her arms resignedly. Last night's memories still lingered in her mind. The sudden urge to stay out late, followed by her going into the clearing, and finally being approached by that odd boy still confounded her thoughts. She usually didn't act like that, up until to the sarcastic response. She was still suspicious of the boy's motives. It seemed that he was just trying to be nice, but still Zakuro wasn't sure. 

Quickly she brushed away her thoughts of last night. She got ready for school, and did all the necessities – shower, deodorant, brushing of hair and teeth – before going downstairs for breakfast. She realized that there was still plenty of time before school began, and so took her time eating the bowl of cereal that she had prepared for herself. She also had a cup of coffee; even though most people her age didn't drink coffee on a daily basis.

Finally taking the last sip of her morning drink, Zakuro put on her shoes and walked out the door, knowing that she was still the only one awake. Closing the door, she looked around the small garden that she had planted to see a few subtle hints of the various fruits and vegetables she had sowed. She didn't know why she had planted them; it was very impulsive, very unlike her. It was a beautiful day, about 25° she guessed, with the sun shining brightly.

The walk to school was an uneventful blur, as usual. While nearing the school, she noticed a small group of people that were in her class. Not in the mood to talk, she quickly walked by them and into the school. She took out her necessary binders, and went to her first class, algebra.

Ms. Akuba, her algebra teacher, ushered in the class hurriedly. She wasn't a morning person. Hastily taking attendance, she asked for everyone to take out their homework from last night and quickly go up to show her that it was completed. There were the usual few boys who did not do it, and this seemed to almost please her that day.

"For all the people who did not complete the homework, please come to the front of the room to receive a slip of paper for your parents to sign." This raised a collective gasp from around the room. Having to get your parents involved for not doing work was quite serious there. The boys grunted and aversely and went up to receive the slip of paper.

Ms. Bunmei failed in her attempt to conceal a smile as the boys loathingly returned to their seats. Hopefully that would get the boys back on track for their work. School was too competitive here for children to slack off.

"For all those who did complete their homework," she said this with just enough venom to conceivably convince the boys that doing work was a good idea. "Please exchange it with a person next to you."

Zakuro exchanged her page with that of Haguro who sat to her left. Haguro was one of the atypical people in her class that she could stand, even if she could occasionally be too talkative.

Before Ms. Bunmei could commence correcting the work, the principle walked in. They had a whispered conversation, which Zakuro couldn't hear, even with her better than normal hearing. However, she could make out a figure just outside the classroom.

Once the short conversation ended, the figure walked into the classroom and was directed towards the front and centre. Instantly, Zakuro recognized the character. _What is he doing here?_ Zakuro wondered, surprised. It was late in the school year; she had never seen anyone join a new school so belatedly. He was dressed in the normal school uniform – nothing special there. But what _was_ unusual was the toque he was wearing. At this time of year, nobody wore a toque. It was too hot out for it to make any sense.

He stood there uncaringly while the teacher gave the usual new kid speech; she told everyone to treat him nicely, not care that he was from a different culture, etc. Apparently he was from Canada.

"His name is …" She had finally reached the actual introduction, but lingered long enough to indicate that she wanted him to introduce himself. Perhaps she didn't even know his name yet.

"Pai."

* * *

Pai lazily looked around the classroom after stating his name. He was slightly surprised when his eyes fell upon a girl sitting in the back, with purple hair. He _had_ purposely chosen her school, but had not fully expected to be in her class. 

He had bought the school supplies in a matter of minutes with the assistance of a dazed worked. Once he had arrived at the school, however, he was told that he had to change out of the clothes he was wearing. He had bought those recently as well, knowing that he couldn't walk around casually in the garments he wore while fighting his female foes. He had to expend a bit more of his recently acquired money on buying the uniform, and changed while the principle checked the registration form he had probably been surprised to receive some time that morning.

The fact that he was from Canada was obviously another one of the lies that he had integrated. It could affect their opinions based on what they thought his opinions were of them. They might think he had some sort of superiority complex for whatever reason.

_Not that that is exactly a bad thing,_ he thought complacently. Undoubtedly he was more intelligent than anyone in the school in perhaps every subject, and equally advantaged in terms of physical strength. _Except for Zakuro,_ he thought apprehensively. All of the Mew Mews had shown numerous times that they were more than enough for himself and his two comrades, along with whatever the Kirema Anima of the day was. .

The teacher finally requested him to take a seat in the back – the one in the corner, by the purple-haired girl. She told him her name was Zakuro; that was a detail that he already knew, but probably shouldn't have. He gave a nod of understanding and walked towards his new seat.

After a few moments of Pai sitting silently in his seat, the teacher called him to the front again.

"I don't know what the rules are where you are from, but here no hats are allowed to be worn on school premises. Please remove it and give it to me." The teacher was understandably irritated, for Pai knew perfectly well that hats weren't allowed in class; he had already seen a list of rules.

Already knowing the rules, he had made up an excuse as to why he could not remove his hat. He anticipated that the teacher would accept the excuse without too much need for further confirmation. The note he had handed the teacher read:

Please allow Pai to keep his hat on inside the school premises. He was recently in an automobile accident, and his newly healed scalp is still tender. Curiosity from other students could result in reopening the wound. Thank you for your understanding. Sincerely, Dr. Gansaku 

**Dr. Gansaku**

As the teacher read the note, her face turned from impassiveness to alarm, and Pai had to assure he that he was fine, save for a couple of injuries that he could still occasionally feel. She promptly wrote him a note to give to any other questioning teachers, and guaranteed him that he would not be forced to remove his toque until his scalp was fully healed.

Pai suppressed a smile as he walked back towards his sheet. She had not even checked to see if it was a real doctor. Once he returned, he sat down and looked the lone page on his desk.

He considered the sheet. The work was far below him; it would take barely any time to finish it. He had a pair of options; he could finish the work immediately, or he could take his time, and feint only being slightly more intelligent than the rest of his class. He had no reason to even consider the latter; there was no way he would pretend to be any less intelligent than he actually was.

Pai finished the page with unprecedented ease, and relaxed slightly. The teacher had finally managed to calm the class again, and she finally began reading off the answers, far slower than Pai would have preferred. Naturally, he got every answer correct.

* * *

Zakuro had gotten all the answers correct, which she did as often as she did not. Haguro had gotten all save one correct, which was still very good. Zakuro waited idly for the teacher to ask what Haguro had gotten, and responded impassively when she did. 

Class ended quietly; it seemed everybody was surprised that it was over already, although not necessarily sad. As soon as the class left the room, they erupted into conversation. The distasteful glares earned from the adjacent teachers accomplished nothing to silence the boisterous teens.

The next class was English, which was far too often a bore for Zakuro. Ms. Usugurai was a good teacher, but she could not challenge Zakuro in the least. Her attempts to challenge her failed because Zakuro was equally fluent. She stood out in that class; her peers could only have staggered, small worded conversations among themselves.

"_Please sit down quietly class",_ the teacher said in English. She had been saying that in the opening of every class since the beginning of the academic year, and it was imprinted in everybody's mind, or at least it certainly seemed as such. The teacher stopped Pai, apparently not knowing who he was. Zakuro found it odd that the principle would not have informed all the teachers in advance that they were receiving a new student.

After a brief conversation, and after Pai showed a piece of paper, the teacher began teaching the class and Pai walked towards the back, sitting next to Zakuro again. She had watched the mysterious teen walk towards the back, and noticed that certain parts of his facial features looked anomalously like the only other Pai she knew – the extraterrestrial one. She swiftly discharged the similarities as wishful thinking. Then she caught herself. It wasn't wishful thinking, that would imply that she wished -

_"Hello. I was informed to converse with you, as we are the only two who can speak English fluently enough to have no need for the current lessons."_

Zakuro was surprised, although nothing registered on her face. She was glad that something had interrupted her train of thought. But, to her dismay, before long she found herself comparing his voice to the alien Pai's voice, but failed despondently. She realized that she had only heard the alien Pai talk on rare occasions.

_"That makes sense."_ Somehow, Zakuro was actually at a loss for words. She knew next to nothing about him, and could not think of a suitable subject of conversation. To her relief, he ended her short confoundedness and started the conversation himself.

_"What does everybody do outside of school around here?"_ He asked the question unemotionally.

It was an odd question – did he think that Japanese pastimes were so different from anywhere else? But it was a question that could initiate a conversation, so she answered.

_"Mostly the same as anywhere else in the world. Go shopping, see movies, and hang out with friends; that isn't too much different from Canada, is it?" _She replied just as unemotionally, except she said the last part coldly.

She hoped to strike a nerve and get some sort of expressive response, but again received only an inexpressive response.

_"I suppose you are right,"_ he stopped abruptly, evidently thinking of something else to say. Zakuro was also still trying to think of something, actually becoming slightly uncomfortable in the awkward silence. Obviously that topic was not stemming into something to talk about.

_"Where did you lean to speak English so fluently?"_ So engrossed in thinking of something to say herself, she was surprised when he spoke. She thought about her answer for a second. It was a legitimate question, but something in the way he asked it made her suspicious. But she figured it was just her cynical outlook, and answered calmly.

The rest of the class the two talked, subjects varying from Zakuro's English tutor, to questions about their classmates. Zakuro noticed idly how whenever she tried to shift the conversation towards Pai's past, or anything about him, he quickly but tactically changed the subject. But she just assumed it was because he was like her, whenever he tried to shift the conversation towards her life she usually changed the subject. She did talk about her English tutor, but that did not reveal anything about her.

Pai grimaced internally. He was glad to have the chance to have the talk with Zakuro, although he did not quite phrase it in that way when he told himself that. He had hoped to learn something about Zakuro during their short discussion, although he made up the most asinine reasons to himself as to why he was seeking out the information.

Following the other kids to the next class, what it was he didn't know, he thought again about what exactly he was doing there. He cursed silently as he finally acknowledged the reason as to why he was walking down the loud, bright hallway. The reason he was there was, of course, because of Zakuro, but he groaned inwardly as he confessed to himself that it wasn't to 'collect information' as he had so conveniently told himself.

He then swore, a lot louder this time, as he realized he full implication of his new revelation.

* * *

Finally done! I'll have things actually start happening next chapter. Said that before, lol. 


End file.
